These Atlas boosters were displayed during a tour of the ULA assembly facility in August, 2012 for Huntsville Congressman Mo Brooks.Bob Gathany | bgathany@al.com

DECATUR, Alabama --The Pentagon is opening up competition for the boosters that launch its military satellites, effectively ending the monopoly held by the Boeing-Lockheed Martin partnership known as United Launch Alliance (ULA). ULA, which assembles its launch vehicles in a massive plant on the bank of Tennessee River in Decatur, will still provide most of the boosters the Pentagon buys over the contract period.

According to multiple reports including Bloomberg news, the Air Force is being authorized to buy up to 14 boosters from suppliers such as SpaceX and Orbital Systems over the next five years. The Bloomberg report cites a memo from "Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer." A separate report on the space website Space News also cites Kendall and presents the decision as a way for the Pentagon to open up the booster supply chain to competition while moving ahead with a planned block buy from ULA.

All reports say the Pentagon retains the option to scrap the deal and turn exclusively to ULA if the competing companies aren't ready by the first potential contract period of fiscal year 2015. Even if they are ready, the Pentagon will buy at least 36 boosters from ULA during the period.

In related news, SpaceX announced today it has been awarded its first two launches by the Pentagon, one in 2014 and one in 2015. The 2015 launch would be aboard a Falcon Heavy, a new rocket SpaceX will launch for the first time in 2013.

The opening-up is a significant development in the ongoing competition between ULA and newer launch companies such as SpaceX. ULA sought help from U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, in making its case for a big Pentagon block buy earlier this year. The company says it doesn't mind the competition, but believes it is the supplier best able to consistently and reliably meet Pentagon satellite launch needs.

"We are encouraged by Department of Defense initiatives for efficient acquisition approaches and better buying practices by leveraging Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) buys," ULA said in a statement today. "This (decision) authorizes an acquisition strategy that takes advantage of those EOQ purchase options to offer the government significant savings, while stabilizing the industrial base, securing reliable launch services and providing the government a range of options for the future."

(This report was revised Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. CST to reflect an additional report in Space News and include a statement from ULA)